New Year’s Things

I just did 5 yoga classes in 3 days. I am sore and took today, Friday, off. I’m going in for one more class before the final holiday of the year tomorrow morning, which should kill me. My knee is acting up but I think it’s strained from overdoing it in King Arthur pose on Wednesday night so I’ll have to go easier.

I was thinking about New Year’s resolutions and I didn’t know what they should be. J said that because I’m doing yoga teacher training, and that’s a big commitment, that I should basically be absolved from making other ones, but I still wanted to think of something. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Volunteer more – this will likely be in the realm of volunteering with cats, something I’m already doing, but let’s do it some more, shall we?
2. Go on Facebook less – like 15 minutes a day or less. If I have a question about something, I’ll just have to Google it or reach out to actual human people I know. Facebook is a super fucking waste of time and it makes people depressed, so let’s cut it out. 
3. Read – I read 14 or 15 books this year. Let’s do it again in 2017. Or make it 20. Why not.
4. Be healthier – Cook more, eat out less. Get back to drinking once or twice a week and no more. Basically try to feel good. 
5. Make a vision board – I keep meaning to and then I’m like, “Ooh, NVM, let’s watch My Cat From Hell…”
6. Figure out what I want to do – I don’t think a 9-5 desk job is for me (unfortunately) so I need to figure out WTF I want to do instead. 
7. Rock teacher training – Duh. Maybe I’ll be able to master a headstand, too, finally. But hey, just because someone can do a handstand doesn’t mean they’re a good teacher.
8. Watch less Netflix – This goes for HBO Go and Amazon Prime too. I want to watch less TV so I can read more. 
9. Be more patient – with my partner, my friends, family, and especially strangers. I currently have no patience, so cultivating any patience would be a miracle. 
10. Be less judgmental – I would like to look at someone that I’ve never met and not make 10 assumptions about them based on what they look like or what they’re doing. 
11. Travel Somewhere New: One new city in America (we’re planning on Denver, at the very least) and three new cities in Europe (ideas that have been thrown around: Reykjavik, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Budapest, Bucharest, or wherever they film the Bond movies in Croatia).

I think that’s good for now. What are your resolutions? 

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Why Dry January is the Worst – Everup

I thought about doing a Dry January, but then we were at The Wayfarer and had a couple of cocktails, and then Angus, where I consumed one beer, and I decided against it.

I don’t drink often and when I do drink, I’ll have two – maybe three – beers, at most. I have zero tolerance. Unless, of course, I’m in my apartment having a birthday party and people are bringing wine over – then all bets are off (that happens when your bed is within 20 feet of where ever you might be standing). But that doesn’t happen very often. (I also like to eat my calories rather than drink them.) 

I have no idea whether the concept of Dry January is actually offensive to people who are for-real sober, 24/7. It’s an interesting idea and one that I’ve never heard discussed before. 

Instead of giving up the occasional beer, I’ll stick to having it… while going to the gym, doing yoga, and eating vegetables. It sounds like a good compromise. 

Why Dry January is the Worst – Everup

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, you guys! It’s almost 5pm. I am showered and dressed, and have been for quite some time, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to put sweatpants on soon, eat some ice cream, and watch Arrested Development for the rest of the day soon. My yoga teacher yesterday read the following passage, which is amazing and something to keep in mind this year:

I had a lovely, low key New Years Eve last night. I’ve been seeing a ridiculously funny, sweet, intelligent, and incredibly adorable (and I don’t mean that in a patronizing way at all) guy for the last month and we made plans to go to dinner. We have a lot in common, including our meditation practices, so when I saw that the Downtown Meditation Community was doing a New Year’s Eve sitting, I suggested we go there before dinner (which he happily agreed to).

After 90 minutes of meditation and dharma talk, we hopped back on the 3 train uptown to head to Shalel on 70th and Columbus. It’s a really cute Morocan bar that’s underground and filled with rose peddles and candles. The food was really good, as were the drinks. I’ve been in there a few times before and have never noticed them playing any music but they definitely had music playing and it was awful. We played with the idea of going to Riposo 72 after, but it was a little packed and again, had awful music. Dakota Bar across the street was also packed so we ended up at Wine and Roses on Columbus and 74th, which was perfect. It was only half full and not playing horrible music. We got a bottle of wine and hung out until the clock struck midnight. 

This morning we went to Tom’s Restaurant for brunch, walked around Columbia’s campus, and then walked around in St. John the Divine on Amsterdam, which I had amazingly never been in yet, even after 6 years of living on the Upper West Side. 

I’m sad that I have no pictures from last night, as we both looked pretty classy (him in a black pinstripe suit and me in a black and silver skirt, black sweater, and black heels), but it’s alright. Better to be in the moment than taking photos the entire time (aka How I Usually Operate).

As promised: Time for ice cream and Netflix. Namaste. 

New Years Whatever 2012

I’ve always thought New Years resolutions are stupid, and I’ve never written any but I felt the urge to do one this year so I did. I spent last night at two apartment parties for two different sets of friends. They were both great parties; the first more mellow than the second. My champagne intake was way too high, and I ended up making out with a guest at the second party. That’s something I haven’t done in quite a long time, and not something I’d like to repeat. Next year remind me to skip the champagne. Overall, it was a good New Years Eve.

1. Play more guitar. My practicing has gotten a bit shoddy and I need to get back on schedule and practice at least 4-5 days a week. This includes practicing scales – which are awfully boring but good for technique and learning how to play better in general. Maybe I should also learn how to play songs by bands other than Green Day, aka expand my repertoire.
2. Continue to go to yoga 3+ times a week, while also practicing at home. I also need to stretch daily. 
3. Meditate daily. There’s a five minute morning meditation I can practice or a 20 minute meditation I can do at night before I go to bed (which I usually do anyway).
4. Develop this blog and write more. I’m not sure what direction to take it in, but I definitely want to write more. 
5. Take more pictures. I already take a ton of photos, but I want to learn how to use my DSLR better.
6. Cook new recipes. I always cook the same kinds of recipes, or I make them all taste the same in the end. If I don’t like how it tastes, I just throw a bunch of lemon on it and POW, it tastes good. Anyways, less of that.
7. Lose another 10lbs. I’ve lost 11-12lbs in the last year, so another 10 would be nice. 
8. Get a raise and/or a new job. I am thankful for my job, and my boss is great, but it’s not what I want to do and I’m starting to feel stuck and unappreciated. And if I can’t find a new job, then I’m going to make myself indispensable at my current job so I don’t have to worry about being let go.
9. Whenever I date someone new, I’m going to try not to hold the things that have happened with guys I’ve dated in the past against the new ones. I’ll try to give them a clean slate. I’m going to try to stop saying things like “men are assholes,” because not all of them are (just the ones I’ve chosen to go out with). I’m not going to always been waiting for the end of things. 
10. Volunteer. I’m thinking with BC/EFA, another theatre company, or Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint.
11. Do more things alone. I feel like I’m too reliant on my friends for 24/7 support and attention. 
12. Do things because I want to, or not do things because I don’t want to. Not because of anyone else’s reasons.
13. Read more. I feel like I fell off the Reading Wagon this year.
14. Get hobbies that don’t include going out to eat and drink. Those two things are great, but they’re costly and can oftentimes be unhealthy. There’s a ton of shit to do in this city so I should start getting out and doing them. 
15. Let things go. I’m beating myself up over having drunkenly made out with a stranger at a New Years Eve party. I’m making it into a bigger deal than it is (who hasn’t done this?! all of my friends are asking) and I have a propensity to worry intensely about things that have happened in the past or things that I think might have happened, but deep down I know they didn’t (for instance: did I sleep with this guy last night?! No. I know I didn’t, but it’s still on my mind!). I need to give myself permission to let this shit go and not keep stressing myself out about it. This will be the hardest thing on this list to do.

I think 15 is enough. I don’t think there’s anything else either. I briefly meditated this morning and resolved (okay, one more) to not drink as much next New Years. In fact, I might stay home altogether. Happy new year everyone!